Saturday, 16 February 2013

REJECT ‘EMPTY CAN’ POLITICS

WELCOME.....Taib
presented with a sash made from beads upon arrival at SK Tanjong Penasu. He is
accompanied by Ragad.

SIBU: Chief Minister Pehin
Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has called on rural voters to reject ‘empty can’ politics
and give their all-out support to politics of development.

He described ‘empty can’
politics as the one practised by Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim.

“An empty can make a lot of
noise and Anwar is just like that. He said a lot of things but they were
meaningless.

“He wants to be the prime
minister. If I were you, I would not vote for him.

“He has been Permatang Pauh
MP for about 30 years and held various ministerial positions in the cabinet
before but Permatang Pauh is lagging behind in terms of development compared to
Mukah,” he said at a meet-the-people session at SK Tanjong Penasu here
yesterday.

Taib, who is also Resource
Planning and Environment Minister, added if he were a dishonest character and
practised favouritism as alleged by the opposition, the state would not be as
prosperous as it was today.

“The people have known
Barisan Nasional (BN) all this while. They also have heard what the opposition
had promised them.

“But which of their promises
has been fulfilled so far? It is like waiting for a river without an end,” he
said.

Therefore, he said, they
must continue to support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the
coming general election as he had been practising politics of development.

According to Taib, Sabah and
Sarawak have a special place in Najib’s heart.

He said ever since Najib
became the prime minister, the two states had received RM5 billion in
allocations to implement various infrastructural projects, which was the
highest ever given by the federal government.

This, he said showed Najib’s
desire to help Sabah and Sarawak.

“When I sought his approval
to build University College Technology Sarawak (UCTS), he approved it in less
than two months.

“This is the politics of
development that we want (in order) to help our state further,” he said.

On another matter, he said
the people in Sibu parliamentary constituency would be fortunate if they pick
Temenggong Vincent Lau as their MP during the coming general election.

“I have known his family for
almost 30 years. They are generous, caring and humble people.

“Like his father, the late
Dato Sri Lau Hui Kang who had been supportive in government projects, I believe
Vincent can work closely with (Wong) Soon Koh and others in state BN component
parties,” he said.

Taib later approved a number
of projects requested by Wong for Bawang Assan state constituency.

Among the projects were the
upgrading of Tanjong Penasu-Batu Burak Road and Nanga Tutus-Sebedil-Sungai
Rassau Road and treated water supply to Nanga Tutus, Sebedil, Kampung Bungan
Kecil, Kampung Bungan Besar, Sungai Pinang and Sungai Banyok which will benefit
about 4,000 people there.

On a request for
construction of a road from Sungai Rassau to Sungai Kut, he said he would need
to check the allocation for it.

He also instructed the State
Development Office to inform the contractor to speed up the rural
electrification scheme (RES) project for 300 families along Batang Igan area.

For Rumah Jalak, Rumah
Daniel and Rumah Ungking that were affected by soil erosion along Batang Igan
River, he told the longhouse residents to discuss with Land and Survey
Department a new place for them to resettle. (BP)